New York businessman Carl Paladino, a surrogate for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, said Wednesday the billionaire mogul is the “exterminator” voters are choosing to get “the raccoons out of the basement.”
Asked in an interview on NPR’s “Morning Edition” about criticism that Trump relies on “scare tactics” to win support, Paladino blamed the media for highlighting the candidate’s flaws.
“People that get onto the Trump bus are very, very frustrated with their government,” said Paladino, who ran unsuccessfully for New York governor in 2010. “It doesn’t matter what kind of person is the exterminator, OK? They want the raccoons out of the basement.”
Paladino, Trump’s honorary co-chair in New York, is no stranger to controversy. While running as the tea party alternative to Democrat Andrew Cuomo in the gubernatorial race, dozens of emails surfaced with racist references to President Obama and sexually graphic content.
Listen to the remarks, which begin around four minutes in, via NPR:
